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Labour market report
Written by Donal O'Donoghue | Blog | UK Economy | Posted 03/11/2016 14:29:19
Economy
Ireland is currently weathering the stormy economic fallout surrounding Brexit and the recent announcements that Article 50 will be triggered in the next six months.
As Ireland’s main trading partner, UK market fluctuations can have a significant impact in Ireland but leading financial institutions are currently reporting a continued confidence across most sectors.
Latest statistics from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) show that GDP is expected to grow in Ireland by 4.3 per cent this year but that forecast for 2016 has been revised down to 3.8 per cent in 2017.
Overall, this is still good news, however, with GNP growth is also expected to be robust, with GNP increasing by 4.1 per cent in 2016 and 3.5 per cent in 2017.
Analysts predict that the slight fall in output is indicative of the damage from Brexit, and a weakening global demand will take its toll more fully in the coming 12 months as reality from the next important political decisions within the UK and EU come to fruition.
However, the expectation stands that the Irish economy will grow at a rate close to potential and outperform many other European economies.
Jobs
Improvements in the labour market are expected to continue with the unemployment rate forecasted to fall to an annual average of 8.3 per cent in 2016 and an annual average of 7.3 per cent in 2017.
The number of persons in employment was 1,976,500 in quarter one of 2016, an increase of 46,900 (+2.4%) over the year. Between 2010 and 2016 the number of people in employment has increased by 84,600 (+4.5%).
Our advice
As a consequence of the improved confidence in the labour market we are seeing an increase in competition between candidates shortlisted for interview by our clients. Our advice to candidates is to “do more than expected” when called for interview.
For example prepare a short presentation or white paper in order to stand out from the crowd. An example of this would be to analyse company’s competitors. Alternatively, you may decide to examine current trends or themes in their market sector from around the globe. The exercise will form a useful part of your interview preparation, but also send clear message of your level of interest and desire to secure the job!